Square, Plaza, Piazza, Place: What Do We Know about these Targets of Urban Regeneration Programmes?

Public squares are becoming the targets of regeneration programmes in many cities. A complex space comprising economic, social, architectural, urbanistic and symbolic dimensions, the square is composed of characteristics whose distribution derives from the needs of and power relations between residents and non-residents. Taking as an example the French city of Bordeaux, a hedonic approach is used to explore the implications of the distribution of these characteristics on the spatial structure of residential prices. The impact of characteristics may vary according to the degree of centrality, the type of square and the regeneration policy implemented. However, the values of price elasticities of the characteristics often give unexpected results in regard to the theory of centrality and the expectations of regeneration programmes. City planners can thus evaluate the consequences of their decisions on housing values.